


Jumpscares Will Come at Your Weakest Hour

by Bunsandpups



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-20
Updated: 2015-10-20
Packaged: 2018-04-27 05:55:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 751
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5036398
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bunsandpups/pseuds/Bunsandpups
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Bruce wants to have a little Halloween-themed fun, and Tony complies. Bruce has to remind him it's okay to say no sometimes.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Jumpscares Will Come at Your Weakest Hour

            Tony stood in line with Bruce, shifting uneasily. He wasn’t a huge fan of haunted houses, but Bruce had been dying to go. Actually, that may have been an understatement. It was all Bruce had been talking about for _weeks_ , and how could Tony say no to his best friend?

            They’d been there for about an hour, and their time was almost up. Bruce was chatting amicably away about the designs of the house from what he could see, and the common kinds of scares that most haunted houses used. Tony was listening half-heartedly, too scared to really say anything. Why had he agreed to this again? Wasn’t it just going to be full of loud noises and unpredictable events and all sorts of triggering things?

            They advanced into the room where someone yelled out the rules. It was the standard “no punching, kicking, fighting, etc.” bullshit line that Tony heard a billion times already. Not that it was their fault; Bruce had been repeating it over and over ever since Tony agreed to come.

            “Just please don’t punch anyone, okay?” Bruce asked quietly as there was a lull in the room. Tony rolled his eyes in response. If he hadn’t resolved to punch someone by now, it wasn’t going to happen.

            The first few rooms were okay. There were the typical mirrors and scary decorations everywhere. A few people leered at him from their places, tugging on his clothing on occasion. Bruce didn’t seem bothered at all, and Tony had to admit that it wasn’t too bad.

            That was until they got to the “experiment chamber”. Bruce had talked Tony into getting a better look at the animatronics set up behind the glass screen. Just as Tony got close, one of the hidden animatronics sprung up. Tony flew back in shock, feeling his heart race immediately. He didn’t want to have a panic attack here, and there were only two more rooms, but he didn’t think he could do it.

            A staff member noticed that Tony was hanging back, and offered to escort him outside. Tony could only nod numbly, following the young girl out and wondering where Bruce was. He wasn’t in the room, but it could have been the case that he didn’t see Tony stay behind. _He wouldn’t purposefully leave me in there, right? He didn’t trick me on purpose, right?_ Tony’s mind was flipping through thoughts so fast it made him dizzy.

            He sat down outside with his head between his knees, just trying to breathe. Luckily, the girl had parked him in a fairly empty area. He wouldn’t have to deal with questions about what happened until Bruce showed up.

            Just as Tony’s breathing was back under control, he heard quick and heavy footsteps hitting the ground. He looked up to see Bruce, fear written all over the other man’s face. “Tony, I am so sorry. I swear I didn’t know that was going to happen. I should have researched it better. I never meant—“

            Tony held up a hand, trying to regain what little composure he had left in him. “It’s okay,” he said. It took time for him to keep talking. “On some level, I knew that was going to happen, but you needed someone to come with you.”

            Bruce frowned at this statement, helping Tony carefully up to his feet. “Tony, you could have said no.”

            “You wouldn’t have had fun alone.”

            “I’m not having fun seeing my best friend scared and hurt.” Bruce helped Tony to the car, taking the keys so Tony could relax beside him. “You matter too, you know. You can’t just throw yourself into everything with reckless abandon and hope you’ll come out okay. On days like today, you won’t.”

            Tony nodded, absently buckling himself in as Bruce got in and started the car. Tony felt a hand lightly pat his shoulder, and he couldn’t resist a small smile in spite of himself. “Promise me you won’t ever do something like this again, okay?”

            “I promise I won’t ever have a panic attack again.”

            Bruce gave him a very light tap on the arm, rolling his eyes. “That’s so not what I meant.”

            Tony gave a quiet laugh, eyes heavy with fatigue from the strain of the panic attack. “I know. I promise, I won’t throw myself in harm’s way without good reason, okay?” It wasn’t a solid yes or no to what Bruce had wanted, but it was a start, and for that he was grateful.

**Author's Note:**

> This is actually a mix of like three different times I've gone to haunted houses (and their contents as well). I really hate them, but my friends and family love them. D:  
> I hope you enjoyed the story!


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